The Panamanian Public Ministry recently reported that the Prosecutor´s Office specializing in crimes against intellectual property and computer security processed 578 files in 2015. Of these, 275 cases were related to crimes against industrial property, 236 to copyright and 67 to computer security.
During the presentation of the achievements, District Attorney Ricaurte González noted that every work that is product of the human intellect must not be counterfeited and that the Criminal Procedural Code establishes prison sentences from four to six years for violators.
González explained that most crimes against intellectual property are related to the counterfeiting of trademarks for clothes, bags and shoes, as well as film and music piracy. As an example, he pointed out that in May 2015, 6,129 CDs and DVDs were seized, and 10,359 in July 2015.
Attorney González said that in 2015 the Prosecutor´s Office together with the police have performed 58 registries and 197 expert reports, as well as 225 visual inspections to containers. Additionally, he reported that during 2015, 750 hearings took place, 449 of which were preliminary, 221 ordinary and 192 sentences.
Source: http://www.ministeriopublico.gob.pa
Previously published on the 14th January 2016
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